Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The town has 2,596 residents and lies in Co. Meath.
Athboy’s best grade is for cost of living — at a median €350,000, a home costs 6.3 times the town’s median household income. Incomes are on the low side (C−): unemployment is 11%, and 66% of 15 to 64s have a job. It also trails on hazard risk — an estimated 28% of homes are above the radon reference level. Health is a weak point (C+): bad health runs at 116 and disability at 115 per 100 expected for its ages.
Figures: prices, Property Price Register, 2023 to 2025 · incomes, CSO · work and health, CSO Census 2022 · radon, EPA. Athboy has no overall grade because safety isn’t graded here.
No Safety Grade: the Garda station covering this town records too few incidents to grade (under 30 a year and under 5 per 1,000 residents). Health less sure: few enough residents report bad health that the town's figure could be well above or below its true level.
The 2 things Athboy does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compares Athboy with Irish towns of 2,500 or more, ordered by how far it is from the middle. Towns in other countries are graded separately.
Athboy has no overall grade because safety isn’t graded here.
How TownRatings grades Irish towns →
13 archaeological sites are on the record here too.
4% of its homes were built before 1919, against 3% in the median of Irish towns.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Athboy.
Landslides: none of Athboy lies in a high-susceptibility zone. Low ground by water holds almost none of its homes.
| Share of homes | Athboy | Co. Meath | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| In high-radon areas | 100% | 0% | 0% |
| Low-lying near a river | 0% | 0% | 0.5% |
EPA radon map, GSI landslide susceptibility and our low-lying homes estimate from OPW LiDAR.
62% of households own their home, about level with Irish towns (61%) and below Co. Meath’s towns (75%). Private renters make up nearly a quarter of households. Athboy is the second cheapest of the 12 towns in Co. Meath, at €350,000. Council and housing-body homes hold 15% of households.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| New homes | €365,000 | 64 |
| Second-hand homes | €274,000 | 119 |
| The last 12 months | €385,500 | 34 |
| Housing | Athboy | Co. Meath | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rent on a new tenancy, a month | €1,249 | €1,677 | €1,606 |
| Households renting privately | 23% | 14% | 22% |
| Households in social housing | 15% | 9% | 13% |
| Households owning their home | 62% | 75% | 61% |
Property Price Register · CSO residential prices by Eircode area · RTB rents · CSO, Census 2022 tenure
78% of commuters drove to work at the census. Unemployment stood at 11%, above both Co. Meath’s towns (6.6%) and Irish towns (9.2%). Before tax, the average household brings in €55,188 a year.
| Census 2022 | Athboy | Co. Meath | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip | 34.6 min | 32.9 min | 27.6 min |
| Unemployment rate | 11% | 6.6% | 9.2% |
| Median household income | €55,188 | €77,553 | €57,760 |
| In work, 15 to 64 | 66% | 70% | 68% |
CSO, Census 2022 travel to work, work and education · CSO Geographical Profiles of Income 2022 · Live Register · Census day was 3 April 2022, with working from home still common; shares are of those who travelled.
4 schools lie within 3 km of Athboy: 2 primary schools and 2 secondary schools. Athboy Community School is the nearest secondary school, 0.8 km away. Pupil numbers changed +7% since 2019/20, above Co. Meath’s towns (+2%) and Irish towns (+4%) alike.
| School | Level | Pupils | Ethos |
|---|---|---|---|
| O'Growney National SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 382 | Catholic |
| Athboy Community SchoolLargest post-primary schoolPost-primary · Community school | Post-primary · Community school | 681 | Inter-denominational |
| Scoil Uí Ghramhnaigh Gaeltacht schoolTeaches through IrishPrimary | Primary | 169 | Catholic |
| Schools within 3 km | Athboy | Co. Meath | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Teach through Irish | 50% | 7% | 8% |
| Single-sex secondaries | 0% | 0% | 39% |
| In the DEIS scheme | 0% | 0% | 35% |
| Pupils since 2019/20 | +7% | +2% | +4% |
Department of Education school lists, 2025/26 (preliminary) · no results are published by school · No school here carries a letter or a result: Ireland publishes neither for individual schools.
2.1% of residents described their health as bad or very bad, higher than Co. Meath’s towns (1.4%) and near Irish towns (2%). Disability touches a quarter of Athboy’s population. Self-reported good health: 87% of the town’s residents.
| Census 2022 | Athboy | Co. Meath | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| With a disability | 25% | 19% | 22% |
| Good or very good health | 87% | 92% | 88% |
| Bad or very bad health | 2.1% | 1.4% | 2% |
| Unpaid carers | 5.4% | 4.6% | 5.4% |
CSO, Census 2022 general health, disability and carers · CSO life expectancy by region, 2016 · HSE medical cards, 2024 · TownRatings age-standardised ratios
The year’s mean temperature is 9.8°C, close to Co. Meath’s towns (9.9°C) and below Irish towns (10.3°C). Athboy is 0.3°C warmer over the year than in 1981–2010. November is the wettest month locally, with 94 mm of rain on average.
| Climate, 1991–2020 | Athboy | Co. Meath | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 1.9°C | 2.1°C | 2.9°C |
| Average temperature over the year | 9.8°C | 9.9°C | 10.3°C |
| Rain a year | 916 mm | 855 mm | 937 mm |
Met Éireann, 1991–2020 averages.
Its paths and tracks come to 0.6 km per km², below Co. Meath’s towns (1.3 km per km²) and Irish towns (2.1 km per km²) alike. Across its 4 parks, Athboy has 16 ha of green space. Protected nature near Athboy includes River Boyne.
| Outdoors | Athboy | Co. Meath | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paths per km² of town | 0.6 km per km² | 1.3 km per km² | 2.1 km per km² |
| Woodland within 1 km | 1.1% | 0.9% | 2.7% |
| Near a park | 92% | 98% | 92% |
| Green space per 1,000 residents | 6.2 ha | 2.2 ha | 4.1 ha |
OpenStreetMap parks and paths, NPWS protected sites and the National Trails Register.
Plan indoor things for Tuesday, when about 5 mm of rain is forecast. The forecast for Athboy beside its normal weather: a typical November day reaches 10°C and drops to 4°C at night. Any rain today should be slight, though the wind picks up to 24 km/h; the low is 7°C.
| Season | High | Low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | 8°C | 2°C | 247 mm |
| Spring | 13°C | 5°C | 187 mm |
| Summer | 19°C | 11°C | 228 mm |
| Autumn | 14°C | 6°C | 255 mm |
Forecast: MET Norway (CC BY 4.0) · normals: Met Éireann, 1991–2020
People 65 and over make up 14% of the town, about level with Irish towns (14%) and above Co. Meath’s towns (8.9%). Among adults, 27% have a degree. The share aged 15 to 24 is 14%.
51.6% of Athboy’s residents are women
1,340 women and 1,256 men live here; across Ireland, women are 50.6%.
| Athboy | Co. Meath | Ireland | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 20% | 24% | 20% |
| 15–24 | 14% | 13% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 26% | 28% | 29% |
| 45–64 | 27% | 25% | 24% |
| 65+ | 14% | 8.9% | 14% |
| Primary or none | 10% | 7.5% | 9.7% |
| Lower secondary | 16% | 12% | 14% |
| Leaving Cert | 41% | 37% | 35% |
| Diploma or cert | 6.4% | 7% | 5.8% |
| Degree or higher | 27% | 37% | 36% |
CSO, Census 2022 · Co. Meath and Ireland: the median of their towns of 2,500+
Athboy is run by Meath County Council, its only council: Ireland has one tier of local government. Meath County Council has no ruling majority: Independent hold 11 of its 40 seats, short of the 21 needed. In the Dáil, Athboy is part of Meath West, which elects 3 TDs.
| Turnout | Athboy | Co. Meath | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local elections, June 2024 | 55% | 47% | 46% |
| General election, November 2024 | 58% | 60% | 59% |
Department of Housing count sheets, 2024
Homes from before 1919 make up 4.3% of the total, above Co. Meath’s towns (1.1%) and Irish towns (3.4%) alike. The Sites and Monuments Record holds 13 entries for the town. 35 of Athboy’s buildings made the national inventory of architectural heritage, all at regional importance.
| Heritage | Athboy | Co. Meath | Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inventory buildings per 10,000 residents | 135 | 29 | 48 |
| Homes built before 1919 | 4.3% | 1.1% | 3.4% |
| Archaeological sites on the record | 13 | 26 | 11 |
NIAH, the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage · Sites and Monuments Record · CSO, Census 2022 homes by year built
2 places to visit are mapped within 5 km of Athboy; with them, the best known within 40 km.
Castle · Office of Public WorksTrim Castle12 km southeast
Historic houseKells High Crosses12 km north
CastleSlane Castle26 km northeast
Abbey or prioryBective Abbey15 km east
Abbey or priory · Office of Public WorksFore Abbey21 km westPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
35 of Athboy’s buildings made the national inventory of architectural heritage, all at regional importance. The national record lists 13 archaeological sites in and around the town.
6 notable people were born in Athboy.
John Gilroy: https://www.flickr.com/people/80824546@N00, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Edward Nangle: Tomás Deb, CC BY-SA 4.0
The nearest places of 1,000 or more. Boundaries: Tailte Éireann, CSO Urban Areas 2022 and Electoral Divisions.
Athboy had 2,596 people at the 2022 census, up from 2,455 in 2016: 5.7% more, against 7.6% in the median of Irish towns.
The median age in Athboy is 38.8, against 37.6 in the median of Irish towns. 20% of residents are under 15 and 14% are 65 or over.
8% mostly work from home, and 32% of journeys take under 15 minutes.
Urban area in Co. Meath
2,596 people live in Athboy, in the area of Meath County Council. TownRatings uses the CSO’s 2022 Urban Areas as Ireland’s towns: the physical town, as people mean the word, rather than a county or a council area, so its figures cover the town itself.
Built from Tailte Éireann’s boundaries and the CSO’s Census 2022 (CC BY 4.0)
Sources: CSO, Census 2022 Small Area Population Statistics (CC BY 4.0) · Tailte Éireann, Urban Areas and Electoral Divisions 2022 (CC BY 4.0) · TownRatings grades, run #544 (Irish towns only). Under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0).
Contains Central Statistics Office (CSO) data, Census 2022, and Tailte Éireann boundaries (CSO Urban Areas, Small Areas, local electoral areas, constituencies), under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0).